MacDonald: Services focus on responsible pet ownership

Until a few weeks ago, if anyone had dared to suggest my wee Molly was capable of attacking a person, I would have probably just laughed.

About the size of a football, the texture of a cotton ball and as friendly as Casper the Ghost, Molly would be more apt to lick a person to death than to bite one in defence of her (my) territory.

The little mop of hair, I fear, will never be an effective guard dog.

My perception of my own pet’s potential for violence, however, was challenged a few weeks ago when my son was bitten by a dog — one even smaller and fluffier than Molly — while he was delivering papers. I was seriously shocked at the damage that such a little dog — with all those needle-sharp teeth — did to my son’s thigh muscle and knee.

I was also reminded that dogs, no matter how much we may feel they are harmless family members, can be unpredictable.

They are animals, after all. As such, they are a human responsibility.

When I called Halifax Regional Municipality to find out what residents should do in the event of a dog attack, it was made quite clear to me that the main focus of animal services is responsible pet ownership.

In a recent telephone interview, Andrea MacDonald, manager for licensing standards for the municipality, succinctly explained the different routes animal services personnel can follow when a dog is reported for biting or being threatening or violent.

Based on the circumstances — such as past history, the severity of attack or other issues, outcomes can include a simple warning for the owner, a summary offence fine, an order to muzzle the dog, a dangerous-dog designation or seizure of the animal.

“We’re not there to punish the animals,” said MacDonald. “Our focus is on responsible pet ownership, to try to educate owners.

“There are many dogs out there that have aggression issues, but you don’t hear about them because they have responsible owners. They control their dogs, don’t let them around other dogs and don’t let them run loose. The dogs are still good pets and we don’t ever hear about them.”

MacDonald also made it clear the seizure of dogs and euthanizing pets are extremely rare. Only two dogs have been taken from owners in the past two years.

This fact is important to know, I think, because one of the main concerns my son and I had after the incident took place involved the dog.

Despite my son’s mangled, bleeding and bruised extremity, we were truly worried about what would happen to the animal if we reported the incident.

“Definitely, it’s a common concern,” said MacDonald. “Some people do fear that we’re going to go and seize the dog and euthanize it, but that’s not the case.”

In general, she said, animal services personnel simply strive to educate pet owners to help them deal with a dog’s aggression.

“Bottom line is that it’s about responsible dog ownership, and dog owners should be aware of the propensity for their dog to attack somebody under certain circumstances, and they should take responsibility and do things to stop it from happening again in future.”

Having seen the damage done to my son’s leg, and after having imagined that same damage on a smaller child’s face — my tall son’s teenage thigh is at a toddler’s eye level, I can only say amen to that.